Saturday, October 6, 2012

Waterproofing older homes and buildings

Great Lakes Waterproofing is proud to have been selected to waterproof the historic home of President Benjamin Harrison located in beautiful Indianapolis Indiana Great Lakes Waterproofing does several similar projects using our exterior waterproofing system that consists of injecting bentonite clay, or hydroclay, around the perimeter of the home. In most cases excavation is not necessary since we use small diameter pipe that's pushed down to the footing (basement floor level). Keeping the landscaping intact and having little intrusion on the interior is why homowners and business owners chose Great Lakes Waterproofing. While interior drain tile systems have a place, most buildings and homes are better suited for exterior waterproofing, stopping water before it gets inside.

In older homes there are several reasons an underfloor drain tile system is not considered, such as, disturbing the basement floor might not be an option, or the basement area is finished and putting in an underfloor drain system will cause too much damage. One of the most common issues is if the walls are poured (solid concrete) or the builder used solid rock, limestone walls are very common in the Midwest. Drain tile is very ineffective with these mostly solid walls, the water enters the basement above the floor and cannot get into the drain tile system.

That brings us back to exterior waterproofing, not only are we sealing off the water pathways but we also help the stone and mortar stay drier, ensuring longer life.